Accepting the Change
by Chibi PhantomKnight
Summary: Tsuna's life was as normal as almost any teenager could get. Sure, it had its ups and downs, but he was altogether satisfied with it. That is, until Reborn steps into his life claiming he is the next in line to be the boss of Vongola, and Tsuna gets no say in that matter. But even Tsuna will have to learn that change can sometimes be good. Sometimes...


**Accepting the Change**

**Summary:** Sawada Tsunayoshi's life was as normal as almost any teenager could get. Sure, he had his ups and downs, but he was altogether satisfied with it. That is, until Reborn steps into his life claiming he is the next in line to be the boss of Vongola, and Tsuna gets no say in that matter. But even Tsuna will have to learn that change can sometimes be good. Sometimes…

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

* * *

**Target 1**

* * *

_'Are you sure about this?'_

_'Yes, I am sure. He is not ready.'_

_'But if you do that he will be at a real disadvantage.'_

_'I know. However, it is what he wishes for …'_

* * *

Tsuna lay, sprawled on his bed in what one might almost mistake as a languid manner. Light poured through the window, reminding him that it was time to wake up. However, the lazy boy simply did not feel the need to wake up. He was still tired after an entire night of torturous study.

"Tsuna!" someone called out to him. Said boy instantly recognized the voice as his mother's. She had always been the one to wake him up in the mornings. "Tsu-kun! Wake up!" The door to Tsuna's room was opened, and brunet with shoulder length hair entered the room.

Tsuna stirred but did not wake up, and his mother, Nana, sighed as she examined her child's room. It was a complete mess. Shaking her head, she reminded herself mentally that she had to wake up her son for school.

Carefully stepping over the mess, she navigated her way through to where her sleeping son before a paper strewn randomly on the floor caught her eye. On it was the number eighty-six scrawled messily in red. She picked it up, quickly scanning through the contents. A rush of motherly pride ran through the brunet as she finished reading the paper, but she decided to set it aside for the moment. Turning around she announced, "Tsu-kun, if you don't wake up soon you're going to be late for school."

"'S all right," Tsuna murmured while shifting about under his blankets.

Nana suppressed a laugh at her son's flagrant disregard for school, but straightened up shortly after and cleared her throat. In a clear, stern voice she said, "Tsunayoshi Sawada, wake up, or you'll be late for school!" Tsuna groaned once more before lazily opening his chocolate brown eyes. Nana grinned at her success. "Good morning, sleepy head," she said with a smile. "You'd better get ready for school before your friend, Hibari-san, gets mad at you."

Startled at what his mother said, Tsuna clumsily fell off his bed, landing rather painfully on his side. "Ugh." Tsuna gave his mother a strange look while rubbing his aching side. "Hibari and I? _Friends?_ I'm sorry, but I don't think we'd get along at all."

"He only beats me up when I don't follow the rules." Tsuna sighed. "I'm not even sure if he has any friends."

"Aw, but doesn't he get lonely?"

"Well, he does have minions," Tsuna muttered while glancing over at the clock that sat on his desk. It was 6:45 AM. With a gasp, Tsuna stood up and began scrambling around his room grabbing everything he would need. "I'm going to be late!" he exclaimed as he raced to the bathroom to change.

"Well, what did I tell you?" Nana asked semi rhetorically before going down to the kitchen to prepare something for Tsuna to eat.

Tsuna came rushing down the stairs not long after. His disheveled brown hair stuck up messily, and his clothes were wrinkled. His bag was slung half carelessly over one shoulder, and its contents looked as though they were about about to spill.

Nana raised an eyebrow in disapproval. "Tsu-kun, you can't go to school looking like this," she said with poorly concealed dismay. "Come here, let's get you straightened up."

"But mom, I'm going to be late," Tsuna reasoned as he tried to comb his hair down with his fingers.

"It won't take long. Besides, you can eat your breakfast while I fix you up." Tsuna finally agreed somewhat reluctantly to this and sat down at the table while Nana went to get a comb. Tsuna began eating his breakfast as his mother fixed up his hair and clothes. By the time he was finished, she was done as well.

Tsuna examined his now neatened uniform in amazement. "Wow, you sure did a good job."

Nana smiled at the compliment. "See? Now run along now, you're going to be late."

Tsuna nodded, and ran out the door, his bag in his hand. He still had to organize everything inside it, but he could do that when he got to class. Tsuna continued to run until it felt as if he had not more energy to run. When that happened, he slowed down his pace until he was walking. It was something he always hated about himself. No matter how much he wanted to play sports, his body just couldn't to keep up. It wasn't any fault of his, per se, just … Well, hence his choice of a sport that wouldn't involve much endurance at all, if any. That was why he decided to stick with a sport that did not involve high endurance. He always wished there was something he could do to fix it, but until then …

When he finally arrived at school, he was still breathing really hard. He wasn't as tired as before, and he was just able to arrive before the first bell rang. _Take that Hibari!_ He cheered mentally.

With a small smile set on his face, he hurried off to his class. However, he couldn't shake off the feeling that there was someone watching him.

* * *

Tsuna settled into his class, letting out a sigh of relief. "I actually made it," he said closing his eyes. When Tsuna opened his eyes next, he saw Takeshi Yamamoto, his best friend and the school's best baseball player, leaning over him with his usual goofy grin on his face.

"Yo," he said. "I see you got here in the nick of time."

"Yeah," Tsuna said while pushing Yamamoto away slightly so he could sit up properly. "I overslept."

"Hmm … Why am I not surprised?" Yamamoto drawled half sarcastically.

Tsuna shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you shouldn't be. It happens almost every day."

Yamamoto laughed. "You have a point there. But I bet Mochida's going to be pretty mad at you, seeing how his champion kendo star didn't come to morning practice again."

"Oh," Tsuna paled. "I completely forgot. I guess I'm going to have to apologize to him again. I hope he doesn't kick me off the team," Tsuna said in a self-deprecating tone.

"He won't," Yamamoto said. "You're too important to be kicked off the team. Besides, there's always afternoon practice."

"I'm important to the team?" Tsuna asked with raised eyebrows. "I'm not very good during practice though, and my stamina and strength are abysmal. It seems like I'm bringing the team down more than helping it."

"Aw, don't be so harsh on yourself. Besides, it isn't your strength or stamina per se that makes you strong. It's the way you fight, really. It's amazing! I've watched it so many times, and even now I don't know how someone as small as you can pull it off."

"Oh, thanks," Tsuna said sarcastically. "I mean, I've seen you pitch that baseball so many times before, and yet I still can't figure out how you manage to throw the ball from that position while keeping perfect balance. It's almost like you're defying the laws of nature or something." He shrugged.

"Well, someone's sounding very scientific today."

"Really? Who?" Tsuna asked with a cheeky grin.

They both laughed.

By the time they settled down, Nezu had walked into the room. He began his lesson shortly afterwards, and attempted to teach the class their new lesson. Needless to say, he wasn't doing a very good job.

_They really need to get some better teachers,_ Tsuna thought loftily. Once again, Tsuna could feel a pair of eyes on his back. Frowning, he shrugged it off as one of his classmates bored from Nezu's lessons. It happened all the time anyways.

* * *

When school parted, Yamamoto and Tsuna had to part to go to their own respective clubs. They both agreed to hang out at Yamamoto's place after practice, so at least Tsuna had something to look forwards too. It wasn't that he didn't like kendo he, because he did, however, Tsuna always felt like there was something missing every time he swung the wooden shinai, but Tsuna had never figured out why.

Tsuna opened the door to the gym, preparing himself for the scolding that he was sure to get.

"Sawada!" a voice rang out. "Where were you this morning?! You missed practice again!"

"I'm sorry Mochida," Tsuna said while bowing down. "I overslept!"

Mochida walked up to Tsuna with a disbelieving look. "Overslept? Again?! Is that a frequent habit of yours?"

Tsuna flinched. "Sadly, it is. I'm sorry, I'll try to get up earlier next time."

Mochida grunted. "Yes, do your best to get up earlier. It wouldn't bode well for the team if our star became rusty from lack of practice."

Something about Mochida's tone grated on Tsuna's nerves every time he said that. All Mochida cared about was having someone who would lead the team to victory; Tsuna knew that all too well. It was one of the many reasons he and Yamamoto got along so well. They were both only recognized by their teams because they led them to victory. However, their love for their respective sports kept them on the teams.

"Get your gear on, we're going to begin practice soon," Mochida said. Tsuna nodded and hurried off to the changing rooms. Practice began soon after, and they began drilling basic moves. They ran laps to build up stamina, and did some strength training to build up muscles. After that they began practicing new techniques. By the time they were done, and ready for the practice matches, Tsuna was panting really hard and sweating profusely. Tsuna used a towel to wipe off his sweat and took a sip of his water, satisfying his thirst.

Mochida clapped once gathering everyone's attention. "Okay!" he called out. "I hope you are all rested up by now. We will begin our practice matches against each other. The rules are, fight fair. The first one to score a point or make their opponent surrender is the winner. Pairs will be chosen randomly, so don't be too picky about who you're fighting with! The first match will be Sawada vs. Nozomu!"

Tsuna took a deep breath and stepped in front of his opponent. They both held up their shinai so that the tips just barely crossed each other.

"Begin."

Nozomu instantly sprang into action, aiming to hit Tsuna's head. Tsuna saw this coming and quickly moved his shinai while stepping back to divert the attack. As soon as the two shinai connected, Tsuna quickly twisted his shinai in a circular motion causing Nozomu to loose his grip on his weapon. It fell to the ground, and Tsuna pointed the tip of his shinai to Nozomu's throat.

"Tsuki!" Mochida called out. Everyone in the kendo club cheered until Mochida silenced them. "Okay you two, good job. Good job as always!" Tsuna and Nozomu nodded at Mochida and moved out of the way so the next pair of people could go. Tsuna removed his headgear and set it down on the bench. Tsuna let out a sigh as he was finally given some time to rest. For the rest of practice, he mostly just stood by the side and watched as everyone got their turn to fight. As soon as practice was over, he quickly packed up and was about to head off to the sushi bar when he once again felt a pair of eyes watching him. Tsuna turned around just in time to see Mochida turn away from him. Tsuna watched his captain address the rest of his team before turning around and walking away with his cell phone in his hand to tell his mother where he was going.

* * *

Tsuna pushed open the door to Yamamoto's sushi place. There were still a few people eating there, but Tsuna knew that they would have to leave soon. Tsuna stepped away from the door and moved inside the shop itself, so he wouldn't block any costumers. He scanned around the restaurant looking for Yamamoto.

"Yo, Tsuna!" he heard someone call from behind. Tsuna craned his neck to see Yamamoto walking up to him with a grin.

"Hi, Yamamoto," he greeted back.

He heard a laugh from behind. "Which Yamamoto?" Tsuna turned around to find Yamamoto's dad right beside his son, holding an empty plate in his right hand.

Tsuna gave him an amused smile and replied, "Both." The Yamamotos grinned at him, and Tsuna laughed. Like father, like son.

Tsuyoshi, Takeshi's father, left to go clean up the dishes, leaving Tsuna and Yamamoto to talk idly between themselves. When he finished, Tsuyoshi began helping Yamamoto and Tsuna with their homework, before they decided to use the rest of the time to play video games. Tsuna left two hours later after bidding farewell to Yamamoto and Tsuyoshi.

* * *

Tsuna arrived home at seven PM. He greeted his mom, who stood beside the stove, cooking what appeared to be today's dinner.

"Welcome home Tsu-kun," she said. "How was your time at Takeshi's?"

"It was great," Tsuna replied as he walked into the kitchen. "I was able to finish all of my homework. We also studied for tomorrow's exam."

Nana smiled lovingly at her son. "That's great to hear. Are you confident that you will get a good score?"

Tsuna rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before replying, "It's math."

Nana nodded in understanding as she stirred the food with a spoon. "I see. So a seventy it is," she said playfully.

"Mooom!" Tsuna whined. "That's not funny! Math's a hard subject, I bet even you failed it too!"

"Oh, Tsu-kun, that's your dad you're talking about."

"So it's his fault!" Nana giggled at her son's sense of humor. "Oh, Tsu-kun. I forgot to tell you earlier today, I hired a home tutor for you."

Tsuna's head snapped up, and he stared at his mother with a strange look. "A… Home Tutor?"

Nana nodded as she added another ingredient to the pan. "Yup, a home tutor. You did say you wished you could do something about your math grade right? I thought it might help."

"So, you hired a tutor for me, without my consent?"

"Well, you ran out of the house before I could tell you, and I didn't want to make you late because of it."

"But I don't want a home tutor!" Tsuna whined. "It's too much trouble! Plus I already have Takeshi's father helping me!" Nana smiled at Tsuna innocently, and Tsuna sighed. "I'm going to be in my room. Call me when dinner's ready." Tsuna turned around and when up the stairs.

Inside his room, Tsuna put down his bag and changed out of his school uniform into something more comfortable for him to wear. When he finished, he sat down on his floor next to his table and stared at his bag wondering if he should study.

In the end he decided not to study and turned on his gaming console. When it was loaded, he inserted the game that he and Yamamoto played earlier that day. He turned on the controller for the console then sat back and watched as the game began to load. He only had to wait for a while before the words 'Mayfa'* appeared on the screen.

Tsuna and Yamamoto loved this game and had been playing it ever since they were ten. It was a strategy game, and while the game mechanics were very complicated, the goal of the game was very simple; capture other player's territories.

Tsuna didn't know why he liked the game so much; he just found it fun to try out different strategies with Yamamoto. Besides, playing the board game version of the game got boring really quickly. Yamamoto wasn't on at the moment, so Tsuna decided to play on his own for the moment.

'Win.'

Tsuna leaned back with a pleased smirk as the words flashed on his screen. He looked at the result of the battle. "Wow, for someone with so many resources, he sure lost pretty easily."

"That's an interesting game you're playing. Do you like strategy games?"

"Mhmm," Tsuna hummed absentmindedly. _Wait…_

Tsuna blinked. Then again. Then again. He turned his head to the side to see a baby clad in a black suit with a fedora sitting on the table next to him. The baby looked at him and smirked. "Ciaossu."

"What the—!" Tsuna jumped backwards, slamming into his bed. "Who are you!?"

The baby cocked his head to the side, and replied, "I am your home tutor Reborn. Nice to meet you." Tsuna stared at Reborn as if the fedora-wearing baby was an alien. Scratch that out, he might as well have been. There was no way a baby could be the home tutor. He shouldn't even be able to walk let alone talk!

"I don't believe you," Tsuna said cautiously. "You're just a baby, there's no way you could be my home tutor."

"Never judge a book by its cover," Reborn replied.

"I think that I have a valid reason to do that this time."

Reborn smirked. "Do you need proof?"

"Well, what do you think?" Tsuna rolled his eyes. "I mean; I'm sure everyone's going to believe that a baby like _you_ is my home tutor."

"I'm hurt."

"Yes, yes, that obviously describes why you're smirking."

"Would you like me to tell you why I'm really here?" Reborn asked. Tsuna stared at the baby skeptically. "My true line of work is an assassin. I am a hitman." Reborn jumped from the table onto the floor in front of Tsuna. "My true job is to make you into a mafia boss."

Tsuna stared at the baby, now dubbed as a _hitman_. He let out a sigh of disbelief, and turned back to his videogames. "Go home," he muttered. "I'm pretty sure your mother's looking for you. You can go play pretend at home."

If Reborn was irritated by Tsuna's comment, he didn't show it. Instead he held up his hand right next to his hat, where a green chameleon suddenly became visible. The chameleon crawled onto Reborn's hand and shape shifted itself into a green and black gun. Reborn pointed the gun a cable connected to an outlet on the wall and shot. Tsuna's game suddenly when black.

"No!" Tsuna shouted in despair. He spun around and glared at Reborn, not noticing the gun in the baby's hand. "What did you do that for!?"

"Glad I finally have your attention," Reborn said smugly. "Now then, shall I continue my explanation?"

"I already told you to go home! I don't believe you, anyways! Stop bugging me."

The gun that Reborn held in his hands shifted into a mallet, and Reborn swung the hammer at Tsuna's head. It his dead on, and Tsuna was sent to the ground. Tsuna groaned in pain and clutched the part Reborn had his. "As I said," Reborn started, "I am a hitman. I was assigned by a certain man to train you to become an astounding mafia boss for the Vongola, the biggest and most influential mafia famiglia out there. It is also my job to help you gather your guardians. The method itself is left up to me." By now the throbbing in Tsuna's head had gone down, and he managed to sit up although he still had to lean against his bed for support. What a brutal baby.

Tsuna sighed. "Why exactly do _I_ have to become the boss? Surely there must be other candidates."

"They're dead. Would you like to see the pictures?" Reborn began digging around in his pockets.

"I think I'm good," Tsuna replied weakly.

Reborn pulled out a piece of paper, and unfolded it. "Besides, you are a direct descended of the very first boss of Vongola, Primo." Reborn held out the piece of paper so Tsuna could see it. His name was at the very bottom under Iemitsu.

"Dad's in the mafia?"

Reborn nodded. "He's the leader for the CEDEF, the External Advisors of the Family."

"So what does he do there? Traffic control for penguins?" Tsuna asked sarcastically.

"Maybe."

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Of course he does. That's obviously what the mafia is all about."

"Tsu-kun!" Nana called out, "Dinner's ready!" Nana entered the room with a spoon in her hand. She spotted Reborn standing on the table and tilted her head in curiosity. "Tsu-kun, who is this?"

"I'm the home tutor, Reborn," the baby introduced himself.

"Home tutor?" Reborn nodded. "Aw~ You're so cute!"

Tsuna gave his mother a weary look as she approached Reborn. "Mom, he's dangerous."

"Nonsense, Tsu-kun." She picked up Reborn and placed him on her shoulder. "See? Besides, he's just a baby."

"There's something very wrong with this image… Besides, don't you think there's something off about him?"

"Would you like something to eat Reborn?"

Tsuna decided to give up. Sometimes his mother really was a hopeless cause. How could she not see anything weird in this situation? "Stupid baby," Tsuna muttered under his breath.

Reborn jumped off Nana's shoulders and kicked Tsuna's cheek with impossible strength. Nana gasped at the sudden action while Reborn landed right next to Tsuna, who found himself on the floor again. Reborn's stomach growled, and he turned to Nana. "Maman, I'm hungry."

"Oh," Nana said recovering from her shock. "Okay then." Once again, she scooped up Reborn, and placed him on her shoulder. "Tsu-kun, let's go eat dinner."

Tsuna sat up rubbing his sore cheek. "I'm not hungry. I ate at Takeshi's already."

"Well, if you say so." Nana exited Tsuna's room with Reborn, and Tsuna allowed himself to relax. He wasn't proud by the fact he had been beaten by a baby, and he certainly didn't like the idea of becoming a _mafia boss_.

"What has the world come too," Tsuna muttered as he pulled out a replacement cord for his console. He decided to play videogames for the rest of the night.

* * *

Reborn watched Tsuna sleep. It was six AM, and the hitman had found it fitting to wake up his student. He had heard from Nana that Tsuna was a heavy sleeper; so Reborn decided to wake him up with a more… _convenient_ way. With a mallet.

Leon crawled onto Reborn's hand and transformed into a mallet, and with a smirk, Reborn jumped into the air and slammed the Leon mallet into Tsuna's head. Tsuna let out a startled cry and grabbed his head in pain. Tsuna peeked open one of his eyes and saw Reborn standing in front of him smirking.

"What the heck, Reborn!"

"You wouldn't get up," Reborn said innocently, and Tsuna growled.

"That's no way to wake up someone, and you probably didn't even try! Are you _trying_ to kill my brain cells!?"

"A boss must always be prepared."

"Oh, and I'm so sure that I'm going to be awoken by a mallet every single day for the rest of my life." Reborn's smirk widened. "Oh c'mon! You can't be serious!"

"It's good training. You never know when the enemy's going to attack."

"Stop with the mafia stuff already! I don't want to be a mafia boss!"

Reborn shrugged and hopped off the bed. "What you do afterwards is up to you. My job is only to train you. When your training is done, you are free to do whatever you want."

"Well that's a relief," Tsuna muttered. Reborn looked up at Tsuna and smacked him across the face with his foot. "What was that for!?"

"For disrespecting your tutor."

* * *

Tsuna was in a foul mood today. First Reborn woke him up with a mallet, and then the cursed baby stole his food. In the end, all Tsuna had been able to get was a glass of milk and one bite from his bread. He only hoped it would tide him over until lunch.

Although, if Tsuna looked on the bright side, this would be his first time going to the morning kendo practice. He smiled just trying to imagine what Mochida's expression would be when he walked through the gym doors.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Eh?" Tsuna looked up to see a small pair of feet dangling from his head. "Since when were you there?" Tsuna asked. "And get off!"

Reborn smirked and jumped off from Tsuna's head to a nearby wall. They walked side by side in silence until Reborn asked Tsuna, "Do you like kendo?"

"Why do you care?"

"Answer the question."

Tsuna sighed. "Yes, I like kendo." Reborn turned his impassive gaze to his student. Tsuna stared back at Reborn with a weary expression. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You should quit."

Tsuna stopped walking, and so did Reborn. Tsuna just stared at the path in front of himself with irritation. Reborn turned to face Tsuna and waited for his reaction. Tsuna turned his stare to Reborn and said, "Stay out of my business."

Reborn watched as Tsuna continued to walk onwards and smirked. He gracefully jumped in front of Tsuna who looked at him with a stunned expression. Reborn held up his hand next to his hat and allowed Leon to crawl onto his hand. The shape-shifting chameleon changed into a gun and Reborn held it up and pointed it at Tsuna. "It's time," he said. Tsuna felt his feet buckle in place under him, and his eyes widened. "Die," Reborn said as he pulled the trigger.

Tsuna watched, frozen, as the space between him and he bullet slowly closed. As the bullet neared his face, if felt as if time slowed down. Tsuna could see the bullet travel slowly towards him. _I'm going to die…_

BAM.

Right before the bullet his Tsuna, a wave of orange flames appeared and the bullet collided into it**. For a second, the barrier of flames prevented the bullet from moving, then it, along with the bullet flew backwards, slamming into Tsuna's forehead. Tsuna could feel himself being thrown back, but the bullet itself never made contact with him. Reborn was shocked at what happened. He watched as Tsuna was thrown back a good two to three meters before crashing into a brunet with short shoulder length hair.

Tsuna groaned as he pushed himself up to glare at Reborn. "Why did you do that!? And the was that, anyways!?" Tsuna heard someone grunt and shift under himself, and he quickly looked down. Tsuna gasped as he realized he had collided into someone and quickly stood up offering a hand to help that person up. "I'm sorry about that. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks." The other person said smiling. Tsuna recognized the person he crashed into as Kyoko Sasagawa, the school's idol. Tsuna couldn't help but blush slightly as she took his hand and stood up. He sheepishly scratched the back of his hand and apologized again.

Kyoko raised her brows before smiling again. "It's okay. I can tell you didn't mean it. No harm done." As she prepared the leave, she caught sight of Reborn, who had moved closer to watch the entire situation. "Well, aren't you cute," she said. Tsuna was rendered speechless as he watched Reborn introduce himself to her.

"I'm a hitman."

Tsuna groaned.

Kyoko laughed and then turned to Tsuna. "Well then, I'd better get going. Bye." She looked at Reborn and waved to him as well. "See you around, Reborn." Kyoko turned around and began walking away. When she was gone Tsuna looked at Reborn with a brow raised.

"Mafia charm." Reborn stated simply. "She was attracted by my charm as a hitman."

"What charm?" Tsuna deadpanned. Reborn didn't reply, instead choosing to shoot Tsuna again. Once more, Tsuna found himself flying backwards, this time with nothing to break his fall. "Oomph."

Reborn eyed his gun with a strange look.

"That's strange," he said before shrugging it off and jumping towards his student.

* * *

Tsuna was internally cursing Reborn as he stepped into the gym. His not so wonderful morning had been completely ruined by that baby. What was the deal with him anyways? All Tsuna had ever really wanted was to continue to live out his life the way he always had. He didn't want anything to change, and he most certainly didn't want to become involved with the mafia.

"Tsunayoshi?" Tsuna looked up to see Mochida staring at him with mild surprise on his face. Tsuna nodded and greeted Mochida with a simple 'hi'. Mochida nodded in return and said, "Glad you finally decided to show up for morning practice."

"Y-Yeah," Tsuna replied uncertainly. Tsuna looked at the Kyoko, who was standing right next to Mochida. He had completely forgotten that she was his girlfriend. This spelled trouble.

Mochida looked at Kyoko, then back at Tsuna with a slight glare. "I heard about what you did to Kyoko this morning from one of my friends. Apparently you tackled her to the ground. Is that true?"

"That wasn't what happened," Tsuna replied.

"Sure it wasn't. Look, I'm warning you right now, if you do so much as to touch her again…" Tsuna nodded franticly, not wishing to hear the rest of the sentence. "Glad you understand. You're dismissed to go get ready." Mochida turned around and began talking to Kyoko, who gave Tsuna a concerned glance. Tsuna shot her a weary look in return and hurried off into the changing room. But Tsuna couldn't get a certain baby's words out of his head.

_'You should quit.'_

"…"

* * *

Yamamoto watched as Tsuna walked into the classroom. The first thing that came to the baseball lover's mind was 'tired' and 'irritated'. Yamamoto had rarely seen Tsuna like that, so he was a bit worried for his friend.

"Yamamoto, are you going to score a homerun on the upcoming game!?"

"Yamamoto, you're so cool! I one day hope to be like you!"

"Yamamoto, can I be your friend!?"

Yamamoto held up his hands in front of him trying to prevent the students from barging into his personal space. "Maa, maa," he said with a sheepish grin. "Shouldn't you guys be preparing for class?"

"But, we want to talk to you!"

"Wrong, I'm the only one who wants to talk to him!"

"Yamamoto, p-please take this!"

Yamamoto sighed and looked over to Tsuna, who was sitting at his desk, with his head rested on his arms. Yamamoto raised a brow. _Is he really that tired?_

Yamamoto flashed everyone a fake grin and said, "Sorry guys, got to go." He could hear the disappointment in everyone's voices as he stood up and walked towards Tsuna. Tsuna lifted up his head to look at Yamamoto. "Yo," Yamamoto greeted him. "Hitting on Kyoko, eh?"

Tsuna sighed and sat up straight. "It was an accident."

"Oh? What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," Tsuna said while making a shooing motion with his hand. Yamamoto raised a brow at Tsuna's unspirited response. Now he was really getting worried about his best friend.

* * *

Tsuna sat on the roof, sipping his drink while waiting for Yamamoto to arrive. His day only seemed to get worse when Nezu had announced that there would be a pop test the next day. Tsuna wondered what he had done to anger Lady Luck so much. Tsuna look up at the sky, hoping that his day would get better. He was answered when a certain small black figure wearing a fedora hat landed onto his head.

"Reborn…" Tsuna greeted the hitman unenthusiastically.

"Ciaossu."

"What do you want?" Tsuna asked.

"Yamamoto's a good guy," Reborn stated.

"Yes he is." Tsuna took another sip from his drink. "We're been friends for a long time."

"He would make a good addition to your famiglia. Probably rain guardian." Reborn hopped off Tsuna's head and landed beside him while Tsuna spat out his drink back into the cup that held it.

Tsuna wiped his mouth and faced Reborn with narrowed eyes. "Okay look," he said. "Neither Takeshi or I are going to get involved with the Mafia, not now, not _ever_. We clear?"

"Did you say something?"

"I know you heard me! Stop pretending like you didn't!"

"Yo, Tsuna!" Said person turned his head to see Yamamoto walk up to him. The baseball player set down one of the two bentos he was carrying in front of Tsuna.

Yamamoto was about to sit down when Tsuna said, "Seat's taken."

Yamamoto looked down to see a fedora-wearing baby sitting almost directly below him. Yamamoto blinked in surprise as Reborn greeted him, "Ciaossu."

"Hi," Yamamoto greeted the baby in return. "Who's this, Tsuna? Your little brother?"

"Definitely not," Tsuna said. "He's my very own personal stalker."

Reborn kicked Tsuna for the comment, and said to Yamamoto, "My name is Reborn. I am a hitman and Tsuna's home tutor. It is my responsibility to make Tsuna into a mafia boss."

"I see, I apologize." Yamamoto sat down on the other side of Tsuna and looked at the baby with a sincere expression. "It must be troublesome for you to be a hitman at such a young age."

"Perhaps. Would you like to join Tsuna's famiglia?"

"Reborn!" Tsuna yelled as he got between Yamamoto and the baby. "What did I say to you earlier about not getting us involved?" Reborn kicked Tsuna to the side again and looked up innocently at Yamamoto.

"So?" Reborn asked.

Tsuna sent a pleading look at Yamamoto, hoping that the baseball player would get the message. Yamamoto seemed troubled by his friend's reaction and told Reborn, "I'll think about it." Tsuna let out a sigh of relief until Reborn shot him a murderous glare, and Tsuna couldn't help but shiver.

"S-So… Yamamoto, what do you think about Nezu-_sensei_ giving us a pop quiz right after today's test?" Tsuna asked, desperately wanting to change the subject.

"I can tutor you guys later if you want," Reborn said.

Tsuna gave Reborn an untrusting look. "I think I'll pass. Besides, we already have someone who's helping us."

"Oh? Who?"

"My father," Yamamoto said.

"Will it be enough?" Reborn asked.

"Well, considering it's _you_ we're talking about, I think I'd refuse even if it wasn't enough." Reborn smacked Tsuna once again with his foot while Yamamoto laughed at their childish antics.

* * *

Tsuna twirled his pencil idly while as Yamamoto's father explained the material. Yamamoto was paying close attention to what his father had to say, but Tsuna wasn't in the mood. It had taken him forever for him to convince Reborn to leave him alone while at Yamamoto's place. The baby was beginning to really annoy Tsuna, not to mention his more… _sadistic._

"You're not focusing, Tsuna." Tsuna looked up at Tsuyoshi, who had set down the study materials and was looking at Tsuna with a concerned look etched on his face.

"I'm sorry," Tsuna muttered.

"What's on your mind?" Tsuyoshi asked Tsuna

"That's right, you never told me," Yamamoto said.

"It's cause of my new home tutor my mom hired for me," Tsuna said as he set down his pencil. "His name is Reborn."

Tsuyoshi's eyes widened in surprise. "Reborn?"

"Yeah," Tsuna said nodding. After a little prompting from Yamamoto, he told them almost everything that happened from the previous day.

"It must be hard for you," Tsuyoshi said leaning backwards.

"Haha, interesting game you must be playing with the baby, Tsuna," Yamamoto said. Tsuna gave Yamamoto a half-hearted smile. He knew that he was only trying to cheer him up, but Tsuna found Yamamoto's way of doing it strange. Yamamoto took Tsuna's reaction as a yes, and asked him, "Really? Can I join?"

When Tsuna recovered from the initial shock from hearing his friend's request, he held up his hand so they formed an X and said, "No way! I'll deal with it myself … well, somehow!" He winced involuntarily at the thought, his mouth flattening into a thin line.

"Why not? It'll be fun," Yamamoto said light-heartedly.

_No it won't_, Tsuna thought bitterly.

Tsuna sent Tsuyoshi a pleading look, hoping the sushi chef would get his message for help. Tsuyoshi nodded in understanding and politely asked Yamamoto to clean up the remaining dirty dishes.

"Okay." Yamamoto stood up and exited the room, leaving Tsuna and Tsuyoshi alone.

Tsuna sighed. "I don't want to get involved with the mafia."

"No one wants to," Tsuyoshi replied. "Most people who are involved with it either grew up in the mafia or were in some way forced to become involved. Your case is the latter, and I'm willing to bet that Reborn isn't going to stop. He's been known for being stubborn."

"I can tell." There was a moment of silence before something clicked in Tsuna's mind, and he looked up at Tsuyoshi warily. "How do you know about Reborn? Besides what I have told you, of course."

Tsuyoshi smiled sadly at Tsuna. "I too, was once part of the mafia." Tsuna widened his eyes, stunned as Tsuyoshi continued talking, "And I would prefer it if Yamamoto didn't get involved." Tsuna was about to agree with him right away when Tsuyoshi held up his hand. "Wait, let me finish." Tsuna closed his mouth, even though he knew he probably wouldn't like what Tsuyoshi was about to say next. "I'd rather Takeshi doesn't get involved, however—" Tsuyoshi paused. "—Takeshi and I will be giving you our full support."

"No!" Tsuna said slamming his hands on the table. "I told you I'd try to find a way to deal with it myself!"

"Too late." Tsuna and Tsuyoshi turned their heads to see Yamamoto waking into the room. With a grin, he said, "After all, Reborn already asked me, remember?"

"And you're sure there's absolutely no way to make you guys change your minds?" Tsuna asked.

"Nope," the father and son said at the same time.

Tsuna smacked his own forehead and sighed. "Wonderful, just wonderful."

Tsuyoshi and Yamamoto laughed at Tsuna's antics.

* * *

Tsuna scowled as he sat down in his seat. The stupid baby had kept him awake until late last night 'tutoring' him. He had been far from pleased when the baby decided to use explosives on him every time he'd gotten an answer wrong. What surprised Tsuna was the fact that his mom hadn't even noticed. As much as he loved his mother, there was a certain limit as to how dense one could possibly be.

Reborn had awoken him yet again with a mallet, much to Tsuna's dismay, and on top of that, had stolen his breakfast again. Mochida had praised him on attending kendo practice, but Tsuna could tell Mochida was still mad about him crashing into Kyoko.

At the moment, Tsuna watched Yamamoto talking to the baseball team's captain. Yamamoto was listening to his captain with a serious expression on his face, which alarmed Tsuna because one almost never saw Yamamoto without a smile, grin or something of the sort on his face. Finally, Yamamoto said something to the captain, and he nodded in satisfaction before exiting the room. Yamamoto looked at Tsuna, his mouth twisted into a wry grin.

"Are you okay?" Tsuna asked Yamamoto. "It looked like you were having a serious conversation there with your captain." Tsuna saw Yamamoto's grin falter slightly, but it was back to normal before Tsuna could confirm it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Yamamoto said. "My captain just told me to keep up the good work, but let's not dwell on that, I heard you have a kendo match coming up soon?" Tsuna nodded, not comfortable with the sudden topic change. Yamamoto smirked and held up his fist. "You better show your opponents who's boss."

Tsuna grinned despite his worries, and bumped Yamamoto's fist with his own. "And you better win yours," Tsuna said. Yamamoto nodded.

"Okay students!" Nezu called out. "Settle down, settle down!" The class became silent and Nezu continued, "Today we had a new transfer student." Whispers began to ripple throughout the class as they excitedly began talking about what the thought the new transfer student would be like.

"Quiet!" Nezu nodded when the class became silent again. Nezu looked at the open door and gestured for the new student to enter.

A teen male with silver hair and emerald green eyes narrowed in a glare sauntered into the room. Long ash pale bangs framed the side of his face while the hair behind it stuck up to the side. The way he had held himself suggested to Tsuna that he was a delinquent, for there was a small slouch in the transfer student's posture, and he kept his hands shoved in his pockets. His shirt was unbuttoned, and Tsuna was grateful that he had worn a second rumpled red tee underneath. Two necklaces tangled around his neck in lieu of an actual tie, the former of which Tsuna couldn't see clearly.

"This is Hayato Gokudera," Nezu said before people began talking. "Up till now, he was studying overseas in Italy. Gokudera, do you have anything to say to the class?"

Gokudera ignored him and scanned the classroom as if looking for someone, and as soon as his stormy emerald gaze locked with Tsuna's own chocolate brown orbs, he scowled. Tsuna gulped and backed up against his chair. Whatever was about to happen, he was almost positive that he wasn't going to like it.

* * *

* Mayfa isn't a real game. I just made it up since I didn't want to go looking for a game that fits my requirements.

** Forgive me if you like seeing Tsuna running around in Dying Will Mode. I have major problems writing that kind of humor.

* * *

**So, how was it? Once again, I apologize to any of you who like Dying Will Mode, but I'm not very comfortable writing about teenage boys running around in their boxers screaming 'Reborn!'. If you don't like the fact that there is no Dying Will Mode, then this isn't the story for you.**

**You may or may not notice that I based Tsuna's fighting style after Kurogane's fighting style, so if your interested about how Tsuna fights, you can go look up that manga.**

**Special thanks to _Belle of the Ball s2 _for editing my story! And, since I don't have anything else to say:**

**Ciao!**


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